The Little Dumbbell Nebula
is a planetary nebula. A planetary nebula is the glowing cloud of gas
ejected from a low-mass star at the end of its life. This nebula was was
discovered by Pierre Mechain on September 5, 1780, but it was not correctly
identified as a planetary nebula until 1918 by Herber D. Curtis. The bright
part of this nebula is only 65 arcseconds in diameter but with the halo,
the nebula has a total diameter of about 290 arcseconds. The distance
to this nebula is not positively known, but estimates range from 1700
to 15000 light years. This nebula is known as The Little Dumbbell Nebula,
Cork Nebula, Butterfly Nebula, and Barbell Nebula.

In the photo of the Little
Dumbbell Nebula, we see a central star and a faint halo on either side
of the star. The glowing cloud of gas of the Little Dumbbell Nebula was
most likely ejected in the form of stellar winds from the central star
when it was still in its Red Giant phase. The cause of the distinct halo
form of the gas of this nebula is not known for sure. However, it is hypothesized
that the spin and magnetic field of the central star are channeling the
gas.